Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127943
IN THE TAPES BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU 've got to rant. As America's premier motorcycle sanctioning body, and the only one recognized by the FIM, the AMA has unquestionably done the motorcycle rac: ing a lot of good, especially lately. You can look to the healthy state of the circus that is motocross/supercross, the tremendous action that has been enjoyed in the Superbike series thus far in '98, and an ultra-competitive dirt track series that seemed to improve considerably last year (and hopefully will continue to grow this year) as signs that AMA-sanctioned racing is as popular as ever. So will someone, anyone, please explain to me why our nation's most recognized motorcycle sanctioning body continues to shoot itself in the foot with moves that amount to nothing more than a lack of common sen e? Need an example? Easy. This Cary Andrew /HyperCycle debacle is ridiculously out of control, and regardless of the "rulings" that were handed down in the matter, I think that the fallout from this incident has yet to occur. I also think that if it ever does, it will be nuclear. In case you haven't been kl?eping up on the saga (come on out, eI\joy that big yellow ball in the sky; it's called the sun), it goes something like this: HyperCycle was busted by the AMA at Daytona when tech inspectors found that both Jason Pridmore's and Nicky Hayden's 750cc Supersport machines had material removed from the base-gasket area. The AMA followed its own rule book, which clearly states in section C under Equipment Offenses and Penalties: "Each rider assumes full responsibility for any violation of equipment rules involving Ius/her motorcycle." The infraction was classified as a Category 1 equipment offense; "An equipment viola.tion that could potentially or effectively enhance the performance of a motorcycle used in competi tion." The AMA then followed the rule book under the Penalties section for Category 1 equipment offenses. According to the rule book, it had the following options: I Disqualification. 2) Total or partial loss of points. 3} Total or partial loss of prize money. 4) Suspension from the next National event in the series. 1) 5) Fine. The AMA apparently looked at those options and elected to disqualify both riders. Bravo! Well done. Case closed. Regardless of who actually removed the material on those cases, the rider was the man that the rule book clearly spelled out would be disqualified, and both riders were. Whether it was their own fault was not the issue. U that came as a surprise to either Hayden or Pridmore, then that's their fault, because I'd be willing to bet that neither one of them has read the rule book. If they had, they would have known. I'd also bet that if they had known about the violations, then both of them have enough personal and professional integrity to say to anyone, "Hey, I don't need a cheater bike to win." Their talent is without question. In any event, justice was served, regardless of the popularity of the decision. With all that was on the line for all parties concerned, such as: 1) the potential damage to HyperCycle's relationship with Suzuki; 2) the AMA's potential loss of a model satellite team that can competitively run with the factories; and 3) the potential damage to the reputations .of two great racers, I thought that the AMA handled the decision with integrity, and that its message was loud, clear and consistent. You cheat, you're gone. Period. Then the,e was that question over some of the electronics and fuel-injection pieces on a HyperCycle machine at Laguna Seca. The parts were deemed to be legal. Justice was again served. Legal parts are legal parts. There' is no penalty prescribed in the AMA rulebbok for· questionaqle parts, just illegal ones. As far as I'm concerned, then, that case was closed, too. Then of course, we get to Willow Springs, where, after putting in the ride of his young career, Nicky Hayden won the AMA 750cc Supersport race. It was a great ride by a super-talented up-andcoming rider. But, uh-oh, there was a problem. In the postrace inspection, Hayden's bike was found to be illegal again. This time it was a windscreen tha twas "about 1't, inclles too tall," according to our report in Cycle News. The AMA's recourse? Logic would dictate that it should have been to disqualify the rider, right? After all, the rule book clearly states that "Each rider assumes full responsibility for any violation of equipment rules involVing his/her motorcycle." But in looking at the rule book, the AMA once again realized it had the following options; 1) Disquali6cation. 2) Total or partial loss of points. 3) Total or partial loss of prize money. 4) Suspension from the next Nation.,1 event in the series. 5) Fine. For some reason, the AMA chose option two this time, penalizing Hayden a mere five points. Then the AMA suspended Cary Andrew, the reasoning behind which is an argument for another day. I will only say this; Under points nine and 26 in the section on General Offenses, I guess the AMA could cotlceivably have the justification for doing so, but I'm not even gonna touch thatone. But regarding the decision as it affects the rider(s), AMA Pro Racing's Merrill Vanderslice had the following to say: '1f there's a performance advantage, then basically you get disqualified, It's hard to prove 100 percent that he had a performance advantage. We didn't want to disqualify Nicky (Hayden). The next-best thing was to take points, and we decided on five. Although we've never done this before, we've always had that option. This is a unique case, and we had to get to the root of the problem on who is responsible. We also have a responsibility to the rest of the field, and that's why we took away s6me of his championslup points." It's nothing personal to Mr. Vander6lice, as I sympathize with the difficult position that he faces, but the statement he made is, in my opinion, both c0I1tradictory and inaccurate. First, it is contradictory to what AMA road racing manager Ron Barrick had to say before the Speedvision television cameras prior to the Sears Point ational coverage. Barrick told Speedvision that the windscreen on Hayden's bike did represent a performance advantage at sum a place as Willow, where the speeds are higher, and any way that a bike can "cheat the wind" is going to be an advantage. So if, according to Barrick, there was a performance ad vantage, then, according to Vanderslice, a rider disqualification was in order. The inaccuracy in Vanderslice's statement, I believe - and not by any intent on his part - lies in the "This is a unique case" portion of it. Maybe it is a unique ca e in road racing, bu t I argue that obvious precedents have been set, even in they were set in another AMA Pro Racing series. Lets drop back to another time, another place. 'At the 1996 Knoxville Half.Mile, 17-year-old J.R. Schnabel put in the ride 'of his career on a bumpy race track and ran down top-runlung series contenders such as Kevin Atherton, Will Davis and Davey Camlin late in the race to finish an incredible runner-up to winner Scott Parker. However, bad news followed the good when Schnabel's carburetors were discovered to have been approximately less than one millimeter too small for the AMA's inspection tool. Schnabel, the rider who didn't even lay a finger on his carburetors prior to or during that evening's race, was immedia.tely disqualified. There is no way in hell that anyone not the best mechanic, best rider or most savvy technical inspector - can convin.ce me that a less-than-one-millimeter-smaller carburetor is going to improve the performance of an engine on a hole-hoppin' half mile - such as Knoxville was on that cold Summer night - to the point that this kid had any kind of an advantage. I might buy that argument on the mile, but not at Knoxville. Yet Sclmabel was disqualified. No points, no money. An appeal was later heard but rejected. It was a wildly unpopular decision with the fans, the media and Schnabel's fellow riders and teams. After all, Schnabel was looked upon by all as one of dirt track's bright stars of the future, just as Hayden is looked upon by the knee-dragging crowd today. But you know what? It·didn't matter. Rules were broken. According to the rule book, the rider was responsible for the equipment violation. The rider went down. Incidentally, just one week earlier, Rich King - a rider in the thick of the , point chase - was disqualified after finishing third at the Eldora Half Mile when it was discovered that Ius mechanics had accidentally fitted a wheel with the softer CD5 (for a 600cc bike) compound Ure onto the back of his machine rather than the AMA-mandated harder CD8 compound for 750s. It was simple mistake, but a clear violation. The point is that consistency, fairne s and integrity were the order of the day in both incidents. Let's talk fuel rules for a second. Team Honda's Miguel DuHamel was fined $2500 by the AMA this year after finishing third in the 600cc Supersport race at Daytona with illegal fuel in his tank. Team KTM's Kevin Varnes was disqualified for running illegal fuel at the LaSalle Short Track last year. What I'm getting at here should be obvious: AMA Pro Racing needs to be consistent in its decisions, using precedents where they apply from all three forms of Pro Racing, before my aforementioned nuclear disaster strikes. And now here's my hypothetical scenario; Let's just say that Billy and Bobby are four points apart going into the last race of the year. Billy is second place in the series standings, but he knows that a win pays five points and will give him the series title and the $50,000 point-fund check. Billy's looking for something to give him the edge, and he suddenly remembers that Jim got a $2500 fine for running hot fuel a couple of races back. Billy's got a can of that dope in tlle truck, and if ever there was a time to use it... rn goes the gas, Billy takes the win and Bobby runs second. In postrace inspection, tl1e illegal fuel is discovered, and the precedent is a' $2500 fine. Great, Billy just cheated his way into the championship. Jt cost him $2500 to make $50,000. Any Vegas bookie will tell you that those are pretty bitchin' odds. Look, here's the bottom line, and my message to the AMA is ultimately one of encouragement. AMA, please take a careful look at the potential ramifications of all of this fine/points stuff. I personally think that everyone would be better off if the rule book stated that the penalty for any Category 1 equipment offense was a rider DQ. Maybe for a second offense in a season, the penalty ought to be a DQ and probation, and for the third, a suspension. You cheat, you're gone. And I don't want to hear any whining .about individual cases; let the racing decide the championship, not the rule book. I also' don't care if the rider is a scapegoat; he's the one who gets alI the credit for the win, doesn't he? What I want is for AMA Pro Racing to be firm and consistent in these matters, encouraging fair play, rather than being inconsistent - like it is being tllese days - and poten'tially encouraging foul pm, 3D YEARS AGO... JUNE 6, 1968 20 YEARS AGO... MAY 24,1978 Don Vesco was our cover boy after he took first in his class and second overall on his 350cc Bridgestone while competing against maclunes with twice the displacement at Orange County (CA) International Raceway's AFM road race... Dan Haaby (H-D) was seriously.vying for the "King of Ascot" monicker as he won his third straight Expert Half Mile a t the Gardena, California, race track. Unfortunately, Amateur rider Tommy Rockwood saw his five-race win streak come to a halt after he crashed, handing the win over to Mark Brelsford (BSA). Alex Jorgensen boomed to his first-ever AMA Grand National victory at the Ascot Half Mile, and he did so . aboard none other than one of the mystical'Ron Wood Nortons. Skip Aksland (H-D) finished second and assumed the series points lead. Jay Springsteen (H-D) was fourth... Bob Hannah (Yam) looked sure to be headed for a double-title year, as he returned to the stadiums and won the Pittsiburgh Supercross... Kenny Roberts destroyed the competition en route to his first-ever 500cc GP victory at Sittendorf, Austria. Not-yet-King Kenny also moved to within four points of series leader Barry Sheene (Suz). j 10 YEARS AGO... .MAY 18, 1988 Our In the Wind section broke the terrible news that 12-year AMA Grand National Championship Series veteran Ted Boody had died on May 8 after suffering head injuries in a crash at the May 7 running of the Ascot Half Mile. Boody was 29... Eddie Lawson (Yam) barely beat his ole! Corona Raceway dirt track rival Wayne Rainey to win the Portuguese 500cc GP ... Chris Carr (H-D) won the aforementioned May 7 Ascot Half Mile, beating his factory Harley-Davidson teammate Scott Parker... We interviewed two-time AMA Superbike Champion Wes CQoley. £~ ~. ;